I am enamored with this park. Chiricahua is the name of an Apache tribe and these mountains are the heart of their territory. Just a bit north is Fort Bowie that we visited a few years ago and the route of the Butterfield Stage and a place the Apache often raided. This is the area from where most of those raids began and that made the Apache so difficult to find or subdue. Rugged, remote, thousands of nooks and crags, ample water and resources and beautiful as well. The park has a lower valley that was once home to the Faraway Ranch and left mostly intact, there is a 2.4 mile trail in the Bonita Canyon that connects it to the campground. You can hike in the high country where the peaks are over 7000 feet with several trails to chose from. The road to the top is five miles of narrow lanes and steep cliffs. We hiked Echo Canyon - 4.7 miles but left the most popular trail, a 7.5 mile hike for another visit someday. In any of the four primary trails you find fascinating rock formations at every turn, cross creeks both dry and running and go through different ecosystems. Chiricahua is where two major deserts, Sonoran and Chihuahuan, along with two mountain ranges, the Rockies and the Sierra Madrean in Mexico meet creating a very unique environment called a “sky island.” We saw critters only found here, new birds and scenery that is hard to beat. I hope to return here for a longer stay.
